Feed & Additive Magazine Issue 2 March 2021

NEWS 20 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2021 Huawei takes up pig farming business Telecoms giant Huawei is developing technology for pig farmers as the Chinese company struggles with sanctions on its smartphones. H uawei has stated that it is launching an ar- tificial intelligence (AI) pig farming project aimed at modernizing pig farms, with the technol- ogy being introduced to detect diseases and track pigs. According to news reports, facial recognition technology will enable farmers to identify individu- al pigs, while other technology will also help moni- tor their weight, diet and exercise. This technology has become in demand due to difficulties which the industry have faced is recent years. African swine fever (ASF) broke out in Chi- na in August 2018 and has since spread to every part of country, ripping China’s pig population by almost a half and eliminated roughly 25% of pork production. The company’s drive into new growth areas is to confront its troubling smartphone business, which has been hit by US trade sanctions. Huawei’s smart- phone sales declined 42% in the fourth quarter of 2020 as it struggled with a limited supply of mi- crochips due to sanctions by the US government. It seems that Huawei is looking for other traditional sources of revenues as China is home to the world’s largest pig farming industry and is home to half the world’s live hogs. Royal Agrifirm Group once again wins ‘Factory of the Future’ Award ‘Factory of the Future’ Award was presented to Royal Agrifirm Group’s factory in Belgium, which produces premixes, concentrates, mineral mixtures and young animal feeds. F lemish food companies are transforming their fac- tories into high-technology sites ready to tackle the challenges of the future. The Factory of the Future Awards amply demon- strate this and Royal Agrifirm Group was awarded once again. Just like in 2017, the award was presented to Royal Agrifirm Group’s factory in Drongen (Bel- gium), which produces premixes, concentrates, mineral mixtures and young animal feeds. Danone and Cargill also received awards. Royal Agrifirm Group, through its Nuscience Belgium entity, had already been awarded this prize in 2017 for their state-of-the- art factory in Drongen, where digitalization, among other ele- ments, provides for better trace- ability. With a combination of best practices and new concepts, predominantly developed by its own employees, Royal Agrifirm Group continued to invest in its smart factory just along the E40 highway.